“Young Was At His Best In 2019”: Former Ohio State Buckeyes Standout Chase Young Ranked In Top 25 Players Over Last 25 Years In College Football

Former Ohio State Buckeyes defensive end Chase Young played for three years with the program. He was one of the best defensive linemen in college football during the 2019 season.

Young was so dominant that he finished in Top 5 in the Heisman Trophy voting that season. He was viewed as the top defensive player in the country that season for Ohio State. With his dominance at the college level, this led him to being the number two overall pick by the Washington Commanders in the 2020 NFL Draft. Where does Young rank amongst the greatest college football players over the last 25 years?

Ohio State Buckeyes Chase Young Ranks 16th In Top 25 Amongst Top 25 Greatest College Football Players Over the Last 25 Seasons

Bruce Feldman of The Athletic ranked his Top 25 players across the sport of college football over the last 25 years. He had the Buckeyes stud defensive lineman ranked 16th on this list. Young was the only Ohio State player to be ranked on this list even though they had Joey Bosa and Nick Bosa after Young. Feldman said of Young,

“The Buckeyes have had almost as impressive a run of elite D-linemen as they have had with stud wideouts. The 6-6, 270-pound Young was at his best in 2019 when he became a legit Heisman contender after he dominated a top-15 Wisconsin team that had allowed only 10 sacks in its first seven games. Ohio State got half of that in a 38-7 blowout win, with Young producing four of those sacks and five TFLs.

According to Pro Football Focus, Young produced five of the top nine highest-graded games by a pass rusher in the FBS in 2019, including the top three. He won the Bednarik Award and the Bronko Nagurski Trophy and keyed the nation’s No. 1 defense that allowed fewer than 260 yards per game, and he finished fourth in the Heisman race despite missing two games.”

Despite being so dominant at the college level, his NFL did not go as planned with Washington. He was traded to the San Francisco 49ers during the 2023 season from the Commanders.

Also, despite some of the issues he had at the NFL level, this does not take away at time that Young was the right pick for Washington in the 2020 NFL Draft. During his collegiate career, he had elite numbers with Ohio State.

Career: 99 tackles, 43 TFLs, 30.5 sacks, 8 PBUs, 9 FFs

Best season: 2019; 46 tackles, 21 TFLs, 16.5 sacks, 3 PBUs, 6 FFs

His 16.5 sacks led the nation that season in college football. Young was no question the best defensive player that season for Ohio State. It was also interesting that he was ranked in the Top 25 college football players over the last 25 years. The only other defensive end to make this list was Arizona State Sun Devils Terrell Suggs. Young was outstanding with the Buckeyes also.

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